Monthly Archives: May 2019

BtoBet launches Francophone Africa handbook

• Provides a focus of the region’s evolving technological profile, and details how its tailored content augments the local players’ UX

As the African iGaming market continues to pick up speed, platform market leader BtoBet has launched an industry report with a deep focus on the Francophone African countries. The report “Francophone Handbook: Augmenting user experience through tailored content” provides operators with all the essential data and statistics for all the region’s 26 countries as regards to internet and smartphone penetration, mobile internet usage, the local population’s access to financial institutions and mobile money.

The report also provides insight on the tailored approach that operators ought to undertake in Africa from a technological and content perspective, whilst making reference to BtoBet’s tailored content portfolio for the local market, presenting offerings for bookmakers and online casino operators alike that have been optimized for the local context, striking a balance on the player preference and tech scenario shaping the region.

BtoBet’s Chief Marketing Officer, Sabrina Soldà, also explains how the local consumers are increasingly opting for offerings that combine an outstanding and personalised user experience with an intuitive interface. An evolution of the African player that the vast majority of the operators and platform providers are still not able to address, and thus continuously falling behind or even failing in terms of closing the gap to the high UX and UI that now set the standard in the more established markets.

MGM hints at $800m settlement with Vegas shooting victims

Casino operator MGM Resorts International believes it could reach a potential $800m settlement with victims of the 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas.

This month, MGM filed a quarterly report with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) that said it was “reasonably possible that a settlement will be reached” with victims of the 2017 massacre. This potential settlement could cost the company between $753m and $800m, but MGM said its insurance would cover up to $751m of any deal.

On October 1, 2017, Stephen Paddock opened fire on a crowd watching a country music concert on the Las Vegas Strip. Paddock, who had booked two rooms in MGM’s Mandalay Bay resort, killed 58 concertgoers and injured hundreds more, then took his own life before Mandalay Bay security and local police were able to break down his door.

MGM’s legal strategy for defending itself against liability claims has frustrated many survivors and earned the company even more bad press. In July 2018, the company sued 1,900 victims in federal courts in Nevada and California, a pre-emptive strike intended to both consolidate the proceedings and to keep them out of state courts, where the company feared it would receive less protection.

MansionBet renew partnership with football impressionist Darren Farley

Gibraltar – 17th May 2019 – MansionBet are pleased to announce that they will be extending their sponsorship of football impressionist, Darren Farley, for a second year.

The online sportsbook first partnered up with football’s funny man in April 2018. Since then, they have brought their followers exclusive video content, created especially for them, every week. As the UK’s no.1 football impressionist and comedian, Farley has provided the very best in sports entertainment, driving engagement and conversions, receiving an impressive 35 million views.

The next year will see over 150 pieces of new content produced and uploaded onto Farley’s social channels including Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, all of which will showcase MansionBet’s branding.

The partnership will allow MansionBet to continue providing their customers with both relevant comedy content, aimed at a broad football audience, and an ambassador with appeal to football fans from all clubs and leagues across the UK.

Gaming Standards Association celebrates 10 years of partnership with the Macao Polytechnic Institute

Macao, S.A.R., (May 17, 2019) – The Gaming Standards Association (GSA) and the Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) are celebrating an important milestone – 10 years of partnership and research. Over the past 10 years, the partnership has resulted in increased education, standards advances, and gaming technology research, each of which has benefitted the global gaming industry.

“When we first began exploring the idea of a partnership between GSA and MPI, we found we shared a desire to educate young people about the technical issues that support the gaming business. Further, we wanted to create more awareness of the industry and the standards it challenged us to develop, all while staying alert to the role that new technologies can play especially in Asia,” said GSA President Peter DeRaedt. “Ten years later, I am grateful for the dedication of President Im Sio Kei and the entire staff at the Macao Polytechnic Institute (MPI) for our collaboration to further education and innovation in the gaming industry.

Macao Polytechnic Institute offers degrees in Gaming and Recreation Management, carries out academic research in gaming and recreation, and provides casino management courses, with the mission of nurturing high-quality gaming management professionals and contributing to the development of Macao.

In addition to Macao, GSA has strategically located offices around the world, including GSA USA in Las Vegas, GSA Europe in Malta, and GSA Japan in Tokyo.

ESSA (Sports Betting Integrity) statement: ESSA supports ratification of the CoE Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions but cautions over illegal betting definition hurdles

Brussels, 17 May: The Council of Europe has today announced that the Convention on the Manipulation of Sports Competitions will enter into force on 1 September 2019 following Switzerland’s ratification. Switzerland today became the fifth Council of Europe member state to ratify the Convention – following Norway, Portugal, the Republic of Moldova and Ukraine – triggering its entry into force. The Council of Europe’s press release can be accessed here.

Khalid Ali, Secretary General of international betting integrity body ESSA, which engaged in the drafting of the Convention on behalf of the sector, stated: “The Convention sets out a range of practical measures to address match-fixing internationally and it has been broadly supported by ESSA and the wider betting sector. Ratification of the Convention is therefore a predominately positive move. However, there remain hurdles to overcome. The definition of illegal sports betting, in particular, continues to present challenges to universal acceptance of the Convention text.”

Last year, the Council of Europe requested that ESSA coordinate and deliver a thematic report on sports betting integrity issues on behalf of the regulated private betting sector as part of the preparations for ratification of the Convention. That document sets out the betting sector’s view of the main challenges to the adoption of the Convention and the fight against match-fixing, including the Convention’s definition of illegal sports betting, restrictions on betting markets and integrity payments, amongst others. The document can be accessed here.

About ESSA:

Preakness Stakes odds: Improbable atop board

Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

Thoroughbred horse racing was arguably the most popular sport in the United States for several decades. But, like boxing, it has largely fallen off the national radar other than the Kentucky Derby and if a horse is going for the Triple Crown in the Belmont Stakes as was the case in 2018 with Justify, who did complete it.

This year’s Kentucky Derby was historic for all the wrong reasons as original winner Maximum Security, clearly the best horse in the race in leading nearly wire-to-wire, was disqualified because he drifted into the path of another couple of horses. It was the first time ever that a Derby winner was DQ’d for an in-race foul. Country House, who had finished second, was named the winner. A huge black eye for the sport but in a way a great thing because it was a major talking point nationally for a few days even outside of sports. Horse racing was in the news again, even if for the wrong reasons.

Alas, horse racing just can’t get out of its own way. Maximum Security will not run in this week’s 144th Preakness Stakes at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore essentially because his owner is still peeved over the Derby result. With no possible Triple Crown to race for, Gary West opted to not bring Maximum Security back just two weeks later. There will be no Triple Crown this year because Country House developed a minor illness a few days after the Derby and also won’t be in the Preakness. It’s the first time since 1996 that a Derby winner won’t run in the Preakness.

2019 WSOP-888Poker Squad; Poker After Dark lineup; XL Inferno returns

888Poker roll out a new World Series of Poker promotion, a new lineup on the 888Poker Special Poker After Dark, and reduce the guarantees in XL Inferno.

The World Series of Poker (WSOP) and 888Poker go together like opera houses and Sydney. The pair have shared the same orbit for the past five years, and that makes the online poker room the perfect place to qualify for the Christmas Day of poker.

Over the past two years, 888Poker has led with the 8-Team promotion where online qualifiers joined national teams spearheaded by 888Poker Ambassadors to compete in the WSOP, with the winner of the points-based system winning a seat into the WSOP Main Event.

888 hasn’t announced plans to ditch the 8-Team concept, but it has broadcast its new creation: 2019 WSOP 888Poker Squad, and that must mean the epitaph for 8-Team.

Playtech partners with RETAbet to launch exclusive casino range

The deal brings an industry leading casino offering to the Spanish market and underlines Playtech’s prominence as a partner of choice in regulated territories

17 May 2019 – Playtech, the world’s leading omni-channel gaming company, today announces the launch of a new partnership with RETAbet, a leading sports betting operator in Spain, to offer an exclusive casino platform and its live casino suite to RETAbet customers.

RETAbet is the latest major European operator to partner with Playtech in the online casino sector, reinforcing Playtech’s role as the technology partner of choice in regulated and newly regulated markets. The deal follows Playtech’s entry into the Swedish market earlier this year, and its launch of the first regulated casino in Poland at the end of 2018.

Playtech is providing RETAbet with a tailored suite of established, high-performing games combined with a variety of innovative new titles, all underpinned by Playtech’s industry-leading technology and data driven services. Customers using RETAbet.es will now be able to play a wide range of Playtech’s most popular Slot and Casino games, such as blackjack, roulette and live roulette. In addition to its industry leading games content it is the data-driven marketing and CRM capabilities of Playtech’s IMS platform that mean it is best placed to service the leading brands in new markets.

Live Tournament News: John Juanda wins HK$250k Triton Short-Deck title

Another day and another high stakes win at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series after John Juanda defeats Daniel Dvoress, heads-up, for the HK$250,000 Short-Deck title in Montenegro.

When you sit down with the greatest minds in the game and ask them to declare their greatest achievement, most wax lyrical about remaining at the top end of the game for so long. Credit where credit is due, few on this earth have been a fixture in the highest stakes for as long as John Juanda.

If he were a seal, no club would touch him. The 47-year-old has won $25.2m playing live tournaments over a period spanning more than two decades, and yesterday, he earned his 34th career title after beating the in-form Daniel Dvoress in the end game of Event #6: HK$250,000 Short-Deck No-Limit Hold’em at the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro.

The event attracted 65-entrants (inc. 29 re-entries), and there wasn’t a single turtleneck sweater in sight. These were players with nothing to hide. Especially, Juanda, who had only been playing Short-Deck for nine months. He’s a rapid learner – this was his third final table in that format since he landed in Tivat airport.

Live Tournament News: Mikita Badziakouski wins his third Triton title

Mikita Badziakouski wins his third title, and overtakes Jason Koon at the top of the Triton All-Time Money List, after conquering a 52-entrant HK$750,000 (US$96,000) Short-Deck event in Montenegro.

Mikita Badziakouski joins Jason Koon as a three-time Triton Poker Champion after winning the penultimate event of the Triton Poker Super High Roller Series in Montenegro.

The Belarusian conquered a 52 entrants (23 re-entries) field in the HK$750,000 (US$96,000) Short-Deck event, and the HK$13,300,000 (US$1,729,000) he collected for the win sees him overtake Koon as the leader of the Triton Poker All-Time Money List.

Here is that list.

Pennsylvania slots, tables and sportsbooks fail to excite in April

Pennsylvania casinos reported falling gaming revenue in April after establishing a new market record in March.

Figures released by the Pennsylvania Gaming Control Board (PGCB) show the state’s 12 casino operators generated combined slots and table game revenue of $277.8m in the month of April, a little over 1% less than they reported in the same month last year and well off the all-time high of $309.1m set this March.

The state’s table games did their part to keep April’s numbers up, rising 3.7% year-on-year to $77.4m, led (as usual) by Sands Bethlehem, which reported its table take up more than one-quarter to $22m, while runner-up Parx was down 1.2% to $16.3m.

Slots revenue was down 2.8% to $200.4m, with Parx topping the chart with nearly $35m (-1.9%) and Sands second with $25m (-4.1%).

Sweden fines two online gambling ops for violating bonus rules

Sweden’s gambling regulator has penalized two online licensees for “repeated” violations of rules surrounding customer bonus offers.

On Thursday, the Spelinspektionen regulatory body issued warnings and financial penalties against Betway Ltd and Mandalorian Technologies Ltd. The two companies were found to have engaged in “serious” and “repeated” violations of Sweden’s rules regarding bonus offers, which can only be offered to first-time customers.

Betway, which operates in Sweden under the Betway.se domain, was penalized SEK5m (US$520k), while Mandalorian, which holds local licenses for noaccountcasino.com and prankcasino.com, was fined SEK9m ($935k). The companies have been given three weeks in which to decide whether to appeal their penalties.

Spelinspektionen noted that it had observed “some compliance” from the two licensees but emphasized that “further measures must be taken to achieve full compliance” with the stated rules.

Nigeria threatens to shut Bet9ja for ignoring gov’t ‘invitation’

Nigeria is threatening to shut down its leading gambling operator Bet9ja unless the company accepts the government’s ‘invitation’ to discuss their betting license.

This week, Obinna Ogba, chairman of Nigeria’s Senate Committee on Youth and Sports, suggested that the National Assembly take whatever action necessary to compel Bet9ja – 50% owned by Italian gambling operator Goldbet – to appear before the National Lottery Regulatory Commission to verify the company’s license.

The Commission had summoned the nation’s betting licensees, and local media reported that around 20 operators had participated in the verification exercise. For reasons that are yet unclear, Bet9ja, Nigeria’s dominant land-based and online betting operator with an estimated 60% of the local market, had yet to respond to the government’s invitation.

On Tuesday, local media quoted Ogba declaring that “we want to see Bet9ja. They can’t run away.” Ogba (pictured) instructed government officers to issue a final summons to Bet9ja, and if the company failed to appear, “we will ask the National Lottery Commission to seal [Bet9ja’s] offices.”

Galaxy Entertainment Group sees fewer, unluckier VIP gamblers

Macau casino operator Galaxy Entertainment Group (GEG) reported revenue and profit declines in Q1 as new smoking restrictions helped butt out VIP play.

Figures released Thursday show the Hong Kong-listed GEG’s group revenue falling 8% (both year-on-year and sequentially) to HK$13b (US$1.65b) in the three months ending March 31. Adjusted earnings were also down 8% to HK$4b.

GEG viewed its results as “solid” given Macau’s recent imposition of its full smoking ban as well as increased competition from local and regional casinos “that have a significant economic advantage compared to Macau,” particularly in the size of the tax rates.

The Q1 declines would have been worse had GEG’s gaming operations not “played lucky” across all its gaming verticals. GEG estimates that this streak of good luck added HK$111m to the company’s adjusted earnings during the quarter.